Two recent decisions from the Delaware Court of Chancery address well-settled but important nuances of the right to advancement. A third ruling leaves a gap in this area of the law: other than fees on fees, what remedy is available, if any, for the denial of advancement over several years until it is granted after
Francis G.X. Pileggi
Delaware Corporate Litigation Podcast
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Court of Chancery Updates
The latest episode of our podcast called Delaware Corporate Litigation Insights features the Editor-in-Chief of The Chancery Daily, Lauren Pringle.
How is Delaware’s Court of Chancery adapting to a rapidly growing caseload, and what does the future hold for one of the nation’s most influential business courts?
Drawing on her years of experience covering…
Chancery Declines to Award Remedy for Failure to Maintain Stock Ledger
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Court of Chancery Updates
A recent Delaware Court of Chancery decision addressed the obligation of a company to maintain an accurate stock ledger. In Mitchell Partners, L.P. v. AMFI Corporation, C.A. No. 2020-0985-KSJM (Del. Ch. Oct. 1, 2026), the court explained in a post-trial opinion why, based on the facts of this case, there was no remedy available…
Chancery Rejects Advancement Defenses
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Court of Chancery Updates
A recent Chancery decision rejected several defenses to advancement, including the commonly unsuccessful argument that the claims in the underlying case were not made against those seeking advancement in their capacity as former officers. In Esposito v. Drivers History Information Sales LLC, C.A. No. 2026-0579-DG, Order (Del. Ch. Oct. 2, 2026)(Gibbs, M.), the Court also…
Webinar on Delaware’s Status in Corporate Law World
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Court of Chancery Updates
A recent webinar presented by Lewis Brisbois’ Directors and Officers Litigation Practice Group, for CLE credit, discussed why recent developments do not suggest an imminent change in Delaware’s status in the corporate world. We provide statistics on the number of entities formed in Delaware being higher than ever for 2025, and we also address recent…
Latest Corporate Litigation Podcast on Interpretation Principles for LLCs
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Court of Chancery Updates
Our latest Delaware Corporate Litigation Insights podcast discusses the recent Chancery decision highlighted on these pages in Hassanein v. NTO Fund I, LLC, that provides 21 reasons why an LLC is not simply a creature of contract. Delaware corporate litigator Kurt Heyman examines the implications of this decision with hosts Francis G.X. Pileggi and…
Chancery Explains Award of Attorneys’ Fees
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Court of Chancery Updates
The Delaware Court of Chancery explained the reasoning for a specific award of attorneys’ fees based on a post-trial decision earlier this year, highlighted on these pages, that discussed the basis for awarding fees in a case involving breach of fiduciary duty, breach of a restrictive covenant, and related breaches. Arxada Holdings NA Inc. v. …
Advancement Right Barred by Unclean Hands
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Court of Chancery Updates
Contract-based rights to advancement of an LLC’s general counsel, that would otherwise have been honored, were denied based on the equitable doctrine of unclean hands, in a recent Delaware Court of Chancery opinion styled In Re Care One LLC Advancement Litigation, C.A. Cons. No. 2025-1286-NAC (Del. Ch. Sept. 24, 2026).
Basic Factual Background
Although…
The Weaponization of Legal Ethics Enforcement Agencies
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Selected Articles by Francis
For the last 30 years, I have been writing an ethics column for the national publication of The American Inns of Court called The Bencher. My latest column is about a recent lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice against the District of Columbia Office of Disciplinary Counsel for the weaponization of that office…
Latest Delaware Corporate Litigation Podcast
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Commentary
The latest episode of the Delaware Corporate Litigation Insights Podcast features M&A deal lawyer Michael Platner, who discusses when deals go bad and the most common provisions of an agreement that are often litigated, such as: earnouts, indemnification, and allegations of misrepresentations. These cases are common fare in the Delaware Court of Chancery and…